Methodological note

This document compiles public information about three categories of Brazilians affected by actions of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) and Brazilian authorities since 2019, focusing on the aftermath of the January 8, 2023 events and the so-called Fake News Inquiry (4.781): convicted/imprisoned, exiled/asylum-seekers, and censored individuals (social media bans, frozen bank accounts, passport cancellations and restrictions on press outlets).

Terminology is deliberate. The STF and the federal government classify those convicted for January 8 as "coup plotters" and the restrictive measures as legitimate defense of democracy. U.S. legislators, international free-speech organizations, Brazilian jurists and the families of those affected describe the same facts as political persecution, prior restraint and judicial overreach. FreedomBR presents the facts — sentences, time served, frozen accounts, deplatformed profiles — and lets the reader draw their own conclusion.

Primary sources

• Official report of Justice Alexandre de Moraes's office (STF), Two Years of January 8, Jan/2025.
• Periodic updates from the STF (2023–2026) and the Prosecutor General's Office (PGR).
• Interim reports by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee (April 2024).
• Coverage by Gazeta do Povo, Revista Oeste, CNN Brasil, Folha, Metrópoles, Agência Brasil, Migalhas, Reuters, MercoPress, teleSUR.
• Magnitsky Act sanctions applied by the U.S. State Department against Brazilian officials (July 2025).

Limitations

No consolidated public nominal database of the 640+ people convicted by the STF exists. The names below are: (i) public figures, (ii) judicially prominent cases with wide coverage, and (iii) ordinary demonstrators whose names were made public by their families through support associations. Aggregate numbers are official; nominal samples are illustrative, not exhaustive.

1.1 Official STF numbers

According to the STF balance released in August 2025, 1,190 people had already been criminally charged for involvement in the January 8, 2023 events. Later updates have maintained the same order of magnitude.

Sources: STF, Gazeta do Povo (Jan/2025), Congresso em Foco (Aug/2025), CartaCapital (Aug/2025).

1.2 Nucleus 1 — Coup plot case (AP 2668)

On September 11, 2025, the STF First Panel convicted eight defendants in the so-called "Nucleus 1" of attempted coup d'état, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, armed criminal organization, aggravated damage and deterioration of listed heritage. The sole dissenting vote was cast by Justice Luiz Fux, who voted to acquit Bolsonaro and five other defendants.

Sources: STF, Agência Brasil, CNN Brasil, A Pública, Wikipedia. Final ruling on Bolsonaro: 25 Nov 2025.

It is the first time an elected former president of Brazil has been placed in the defendant's seat for crimes against the Democratic Rule of Law established by the 1988 Federal Constitution. — STF

1.3 Carla Zambelli

Former federal representative (PL-SP), convicted in two STF proceedings: (i) 10 years and 8 months as the alleged mastermind behind the hacking of the National Council of Justice (CNJ) systems; (ii) 5 years and 3 months for unlawful firearm possession and illegal coercion (armed pursuit of a man on the eve of the 2022 elections).

She left Brazil in late May 2025 through the Argentine border, traveled to the U.S. and then Italy, where she holds citizenship. She was arrested in Rome on July 29, 2025 after an Interpol warrant and remains in the Rebibbia prison awaiting the outcome of the extradition process, postponed to January 2026. She resigned her mandate in December 2025 after STF-ordered expulsion.

Sources: Migalhas, Metrópoles, Reuters, MercoPress, Brazil Reports.

1.4 Débora Rodrigues — "Lipstick Débora"

Hairdresser from Paulínia (SP), 40, mother of two minors. She wrote "You lost, mané" in lipstick on the "Justice" statue in front of the STF on January 8, 2023. She was arrested on March 17, 2023 in front of her children (then 8 and 11).

Convicted in April 2025 to 14 years (12 years 6 months of prison + 1 year 6 months of detention) for deterioration of listed heritage, aggravated damage, attempted coup d'état, violent abolition of the democratic rule of law and armed criminal organization. She served 2 years in closed regime before being transferred to house arrest in September 2025. Justice Luiz Fux had proposed an alternative sentence of 1 year 6 months; he was outvoted.

The case became a symbol of the proportionality debate: 14 years is comparable to sentences applied to aggravated homicide in Brazil. Sources: Revista Oeste, STF, Gazeta do Povo, Brasil Paralelo, ND Mais.

1.5 Daniel Silveira

Former federal representative (PTB/PL-RJ), convicted in April 2022 by the STF to 8 years and 9 months in prison for verbal attacks against STF justices in a video posted in February 2021. He was the first Brazilian lawmaker convicted by the full STF bench. He received a presidential pardon from Jair Bolsonaro, later annulled by the STF. He is currently serving his sentence.

1.6 Walter Delgatti Neto

Hacker known as "Vaza Jato," sentenced to 8 years and 3 months for the intrusion into the CNJ system in coauthorship with Carla Zambelli.

1.7 Deaths in custody — the Clezão case

At least 6 January 8 defendants died before trial, according to the STF's own data. The most emblematic case is Cleriston Pereira da Cunha, known as "Clezão," a small businessman from Bahia, 46, arrested in flagrante inside the Senate on January 8, 2023. His defense argued he had entered the building to shelter from tear gas.

Cleriston had COVID-19 sequelae and heart conditions. His defense filed eight humanitarian release petitions over nine months. On September 1, 2023, the PGR gave a favorable opinion for his release. Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the case rapporteur, did not examine the request. On November 20, 2023, Cleriston collapsed during yard time at Papuda prison and died. The prison's health ward was closed that day (optional public holiday).

Prison segregation may become a death sentence. — petition from Cleriston's defense, May 2023. He died six months later.

Sources: Agência Brasil, CNN Brasil, Gazeta do Povo, Poder360, DF Public Defender's Office.

1.8 Ordinary protesters

About 225 to 279 people were convicted for crimes considered "serious" (attempted coup, violent abolition, armed criminal organization, aggravated damage and deterioration of listed heritage), with sentences ranging from 12 to 17 years in closed regime. Another 146 to 359 were convicted for "minor" crimes (mostly incitement and criminal organization linked to the camps in front of army barracks), with sentences of 1 to 2 years 5 months, generally converted into alternative measures.

The most common sentence is 14 years in closed regime (20% of serious cases). All convicted were also jointly required to share a collective compensation of R$ 30 million for "collective moral damages."

The Acredito Livres association and other family organizations of the imprisoned maintain nominal lists on demand; official STF numbers are not released in consolidated nominal format.

2.1 Approximate geographic distribution

According to the association representing the families of January 8 protesters, about 500 Brazilians left the country citing judicial persecution after 2020, most after January 8, 2023. Revista Oeste estimated in mid-2024 more than 400 Brazilian political exiles in Argentina alone. Gazeta do Povo, in a December 2025 report, confirmed 350+ in Argentina, with significant presence in the U.S., Italy, Poland, Paraguay, Portugal, Mexico and Spain.

Sources: Revista Oeste, Gazeta do Povo, Reuters, Lupa1. Numbers are press and family estimates; no consolidated official statistics exist.

2.2 Exiled lawmakers

Eduardo Bolsonaro (former federal rep., PL-SP)

Son of the former president. He took a 122-day leave from his mandate on March 20, 2025, to move to the U.S., stating he would pursue international sanctions against Brazilian officials accused of human rights violations and political support for the Bolsonaro family. He announced his intention to seek political asylum in the U.S. He lives between Austin, Texas and Florida, working alongside CPAC, Fox News and allies of Donald Trump. He was instrumental in the articulation that led to the Magnitsky Act being applied against Alexandre de Moraes in July 2025.

Alexandre Ramagem (former federal rep., PL-RJ)

Former director-general of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (ABIN, 2019–2022). He left Brazil in September 2025, in the middle of the coup-plot trial, through the border with Guyana in Bonfim (RR). He arrived in the U.S. on September 11, 2025. Sentenced in absentia to 16 years and 1 month in prison. Detained by ICE in Orlando on April 13, 2026 after Brazil formalized an extradition request on December 30, 2025; released on April 15, 2026 after political pressure. Asylum request under review. The U.S. requested the withdrawal of the Brazilian Federal Police attaché who had participated in locating him.

Carla Zambelli (former federal rep., PL-SP)

See Part 1.3. Imprisoned in Rome since July 29, 2025 pending extradition.

2.3 Exiled journalists and influencers

Allan dos Santos

Founder of the Terça Livre channel. Has lived in the U.S. since July 2020. He was the first major target of Inquiry 4.781. Alexandre de Moraes ordered his preventive arrest in October 2021, requested his inclusion on Interpol's list (denied), and requested extradition from the U.S. (denied). The U.S. State Department classified the charges as a "crime of opinion." All his social media accounts remain blocked in Brazil.

Oswaldo Eustáquio

Independent journalist. Arrested in 2020 in the antidemocratic acts inquiry. He left Brazil in 2022 and sought asylum in Spain, which denied Brazil's extradition request. He is currently believed to be in Paraguay. Moraes also blocked the bank accounts of Eustáquio's wife and teenage daughter.

Paulo Figueiredo Filho

Grandson of former president João Figueiredo. Jovem Pan commentator and entrepreneur. He had all his social networks blocked on December 30, 2022. After successive blocks of eight accounts created in sequence, he went into exile in the U.S. He works with the U.S. Congress documenting STF decisions; cited as a source in the U.S. House Judiciary Committee report (April 2024).

Rodrigo Constantino

Economist, writer and columnist. Has lived in the U.S. since 2015; obtained American citizenship in 2024. His social networks were blocked in January 2023 and his bank accounts frozen. Even after being diagnosed with an aggressive rare cancer, he had to ask the STF for authorization to use his own funds in Brazil to pay for treatment.

Bruno "Monark" Aiub

Former host of Flow Podcast. He left Brazil in September 2023 to seek asylum in the U.S. He was the target of two STF inquiries and a criminal action filed by Flávio Dino. At first instance, he was sentenced to 1 year in prison for calling Dino a "fat authoritarian" on the podcast. He returned to Brazil in July 2025 to judicially challenge the convictions.

Other journalists/influencers with blocked accounts (some exiled)

• Guilherme Fiuza — Jovem Pan commentator
• Bernardo Küster — Brasil Sem Medo
• Adrilles Jorge — commentator
• Judge Ludmila Grilo — suspended magistrate
• Pastor André Valadão — religious leader
• Jackson Rangel — journalist and entrepreneur (368 days imprisoned without charges)

2.4 Ordinary exiled protesters

The majority of the 500+ Brazilians exiled because of January 8 are ordinary protesters — small merchants, self-employed workers, retirees — who crossed the border to Argentina after the intensification of arrests in 2023 and 2024. Many passed through Paraguay, Uruguay or Foz do Iguaçu before reaching Buenos Aires or inland Argentina.

In December 2024, the STF sent the Javier Milei government a list of extradition requests, and Argentine courts began issuing arrest warrants. At least 5 exiles were arrested in Argentina by the closing of this document. Others live in precarious conditions, without regular documentation and in extreme financial distress.

It's like a wartime situation. — Brazilian exile in Argentina, in an interview with Gazeta do Povo, December 2024.

Emblematic cases include Cláudio "Gauchinho," sentenced to 17 years, who pedaled a bicycle from Maranhão to Buenos Aires (~6,000 km) in 28 days to request asylum; and Gilberto Ackermann, a real-estate broker from Balneário Camboriú, also sentenced to 17 years, who shared a cell with Cleriston Pereira da Cunha at Papuda before going into exile.

Sources: Revista Oeste (issue 229), Gazeta do Povo (Dec/2024), Lupa1, family associations.

3.1 The U.S. Congress report (April 2024)

In April 2024, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee (chaired by Jim Jordan) published an interim report revealing confidential decisions by Justice Alexandre de Moraes that ordered the removal of approximately 150 social-media profiles, with another 300 profiles at imminent risk of censorship. The document asserts that Moraes used the STF to censor critics, predominantly from the conservative spectrum.

The documents came to light through the so-called "Twitter Files Brazil," following cooperation from the new leadership of X (ex-Twitter) under Elon Musk, in response to Moraes's order that led to the platform being blocked in Brazil in August–September 2024.

Source: Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. House of Representatives; coverage by Gazeta do Povo (April 2024).

3.2 Blocked accounts — illustrative list

The list below includes only public figures whose blocks were disclosed. The names were specifically cited in the U.S. Congress report or in journalistic coverage.

Sources: U.S. House Judiciary Committee report (April 2024), Gazeta do Povo, Metrópoles, Correio Braziliense.

3.3 X platform ban in Brazil (Aug–Sep 2024)

On August 30, 2024, Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the complete blockade of the social network X (former Twitter) across Brazilian territory, after the platform refused to comply with orders to block additional profiles. About 22 million Brazilian users lost access. The platform remained blocked for more than a month. The case prompted a formal request from U.S. lawmakers to the State Department to cancel the American visas of Moraes and other STF justices.

3.4 Magnitsky Act and the U.S. response (July 2025)

On July 30, 2025, the U.S. State Department applied Global Magnitsky Act sanctions against Alexandre de Moraes, freezing his U.S.-jurisdiction assets and banning American citizens and companies from doing business with him. The sanctions were justified on human rights grounds, focusing on freedom of expression and due process.

The measure directly impacted ongoing proceedings: Carla Zambelli's defense cited the sanctions in the Italian extradition process, arguing that the STF rapporteur in her case was under international sanction. It was the first time a Supreme Court justice in a country considered a "stable democracy" was subject to the Magnitsky Act.

Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury (OFAC), Reuters, MercoPress.

3.5 Other forms of censorship and intimidation

• Freezing of bank accounts of journalists and their relatives.
• Passport cancellations.
• Search and seizure operations at journalists' homes (Inquiry 4.781).
• Extension of STF decisions to companies and users outside Brazilian territory.
• Subpoenas to platforms (YouTube, Meta, X, Rumble, Telegram) for user data.
• Removal of minor relatives' profiles.
• Blocking of accounts of traditional radio stations (e.g. station in Aracaju/SE).

How to use this material in FreedomBR

This document is a research base — not a manifesto. The FreedomBR site should treat this data as factual raw material, organizing it into navigable sections with primary evidence linked.

Suggested sections on freedombr.org

• /political-prisoners — Individual profiles of each notable prisoner, with sentence, time served, charges, and a link to the public court record. Photo, video or testimony when authorized by the family.
• /exiled — Interactive map showing where they went, with short biographies and current status (asylum granted? pending extradition? in hiding?).
• /censored — List of deplatformed accounts, frozen accounts and canceled passports, with an archived copy of the judicial decisions when available.
• /magnitsky — Documentation of the Magnitsky Act against Moraes and the efforts of U.S. lawmakers.
• /press — Press kit in English for international journalists.
• /donate — Bitcoin donation page with address, QR code and on-chain transparency demonstration.
• /resources — Original reports, U.S. Congress documents, STF rulings in PDF, exportable chronology.

Recommended editorial principles

• Always link to the primary source (STF, PGR, press). FreedomBR gains credibility by citing even sources hostile to its thesis.
• Name officials precisely (positions, dates, case numbers). No pejorative nicknames in the main content — international readers expect institutional language.
• English version is the priority. FreedomBR's audience includes the U.S. Congress, think tanks and international press.
• Avoid undocumented theories. The site's strength lies in hard facts: sentences, time served, text of decisions.
• Total Bitcoin transparency. Public address, view-only wallet, monthly use-of-funds report.

Main sources consulted

• Report of the Office of Justice Alexandre de Moraes — January 8, Two Years of Activity (January 2025).
• STF — 2024, 2025 and 2026 balances on January 8 criminal actions.
• Committee on the Judiciary — U.S. House of Representatives, Interim Report: The Attack on Free Speech Abroad and the Biden Administration's Silence (April 2024).
• U.S. Department of the Treasury (OFAC) — Sanctions List Search: Magnitsky designations, July 2025.
• Gazeta do Povo — series "Persecuted by the STF," "Silenced Voices," "How Brazilians Who Left the Country Are Doing."
• Revista Oeste — issues 216 and 229, "The political exiles of January 8," "The lipstick girl."
• CNN Brasil, Agência Brasil, Folha de S. Paulo, Metrópoles, Migalhas, Poder360.
• Reuters, Associated Press, MercoPress, teleSUR, Brazil Reports.
• CartaCapital, Congresso em Foco — pro-STF balances for counterpoint.

This document was compiled in April 2026 and reflects the situation known as of the cut-off date. Information should be re-verified before final publication on the site.